United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $589.21.

Several brokerages have issued reports on URI. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total transaction of $508,105.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Rentals

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the third quarter worth $25,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in United Rentals in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp grew its stake in United Rentals by 1,900.0% in the third quarter. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp now owns 100 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in United Rentals in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in United Rentals by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 48 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Rentals Price Performance

United Rentals stock opened at $628.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $42.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.84. United Rentals has a one year low of $325.15 and a one year high of $732.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $679.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $570.39.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The construction company reported $11.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.85 by $0.41. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 16.91%. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.74 EPS. United Rentals’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Rentals will post 43.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.44%.

About United Rentals

United Rentals, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an equipment rental company. It operates in two segments, General Rentals and Specialty. The General Rentals segment rents general construction and industrial equipment includes backhoes, skid-steer loaders, forklifts, earthmoving equipment, and material handling equipment; aerial work platforms, such as boom and scissor lifts; and general tools and light equipment comprising pressure washers, water pumps, and power tools for construction and industrial companies, manufacturers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners, and government entities.